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Jay Cutler finally makes his big-buzz regular-season debut as a Miami Dolphin on Sunday, in the Chargers’ no-buzz return to Los Angeles.

Far more people in North America care about how Cutler fares in his first start at quarterback for the Dolphins — after three years in Denver, eight years in Chicago and three months in retirement — than Angelenos give one squint about the return of the Chargers from San Diego after a 56-year absence.

So this story is about Cutler’s relocation, not the Chargers’. And more than that, it’s about Cutler’s much-discussed reunion with Dolphins head coach Adam Gase.

The 34-year-old Cutler is the Dolphins’ emergency, one-year replacement for injured sixth-year starter Ryan Tannehill, gone for the season with an ACL tear suffered in early August.

It was two years ago that Gase jumped from Denver to Chicago to continue serving as offensive co-ordinator for head coach John Fox, after the Broncos fired him and the Bears hired him.

Cutler had infamously failed to mesh with a string of predecessor play-callers in Chicago, but he got along famously with Gase — even if Cutler’s stats that season don’t quite bear out the breathlessness.

What exactly makes the duo such a supposed good match? Off the field, both men still talk about their deep, genuine, mutual respect for one another, as forged in Chicago.

But what is it on the field that potentially sets up this coach and this QB for success in Miami in 2017?

When you want to scratch below such talking-point veneers on NFL schemes, tactics and quarterback play, there’s no better brain to pick than that of senior producer Greg Cosell of NFL Films. He’s been breaking down pro football film for decades, especially on ESPN’s informative, long-running X’s-and-O’s show, NFL Matchup.

“I think what Gase likes to do offensively fits Cutler, and here’s what I mean,” Cosell said in a phone interview. “Gase likes what we call three-by-one sets, where there’s a single receiver to the boundary.

“And that receiver in this offence will either be DeVante Parker, who is their X, or (tight end) Julius Thomas. Because if you remember back in Denver (when Thomas was there too), Gase likes to have a tight end who can line up at that X receiver position, to the boundary — the single receiver who can win.”

Okay, a brief terminology refresher.

A team’s “X” receiver typically is its best. As the X he’s also called the split end because, in many formations, he lines up split to the short side of the field, and right up to the line of scrimmage, not set back. That’s because, irrespective of slot receivers, the opposite side of the offence’s formation, the wide side, typically has the both tight end (the “Y” receiver) as well as the “Z” wide receiver or flanker, the latter of whom must line up a couple yards behind the line so as to make the tight end an eligible downfield receiver.

If your X isn’t your premier receiver, he at least needs to be — as Cosell described it — someone who can “win” in man-to-man matchups against usually the defence’s best cornerback. Unlike the Y receiver, the X has no buffer and often is immediately engaged by the corner. So he must be strong enough to avoid being physically corralled, fast enough to help him shake the corner, then skilled enough both to make good cuts to get open and reliably catch the ball once it arrives.

“There’s no question DeVante Parker was drafted by Miami (14th overall in 2015) to be an X receiver,” Cosell said. “When Gase was in Chicago in 2015, Alshon Jeffery was that guy. And the thing about Cutler is he prefers to throw to one-on-one matchups. He’s a turn-it-loose thrower. So his style fits with throwing the ball to the X.”

Some NFL passers won’t throw it to the X receiver unless he’s clearly open. That’s limiting, and it frustrates coaches to no end.

“But Cutler throws to him,” Cosell said, “because he believes, as you should in the NFL — and I was told this by Troy Aikman a hundred years ago, and I’ve never forgotten it — that if it’s a one-on-one, your receiver has to win. You throw him the ball. That’s the best you get in the NFL. If it’s your big-time receiver, one-on-one, he’s got to win.”

Bottom line, Gase wants Cutler to do what Cutler likes to do.

But what if your X isn’t catching many of those passes?

“Then normally,” Cosell said, “you’re not looking to get rid of the quarterback. You need a new receiver.”

Pressure’s on, DeVante.

Running well and big-chunk passing on first downs ‘only way’ Bills can play to have a chance: Cosell

The Buffalo Bills thumped the lowly New York Jets last week, racking up 408 total yards, third most in the NFL in Week 1. Nearly 200 of it came on the ground.

However, many games the Bills might win in 2017, that’s got to be their formula, according to NFL Films analyst and senior producer Greg Cosell.

“Their profile,” Cosell said, “has to be (1) run the ball, (2) play solid defence and (3) try to hit some (big) first-and-10 throws where it’s a defined read, where, ideally, you’re getting predictable coverages and you can then run route concepts against those predictable coverages.”

Fifty-two of Tyrod Taylor’s 132 yards passing, and his only touchdown throw, came on first downs against the Jets.

“Can they do this against good defences? Not as well,” Cosell said. “But they have to play this way. It’s the only way they can play to have a chance (with Taylor at quarterback) … This is going to have to be their offensive profile.”